News
Central bankers see a global upswing
Jean-Claude Trichet said on Monday 8 September that he was "very encouraged" by developments and the accumulation of signs in the major economies in the world, Reuters reports. Speaking at a news conference after a bi-monthly central bankers' meeting at…
Russian central bank finds WW2 grenade in grounds
Construction workers digging in the grounds of the central bank of Russia found a World War 2 grenade on Thursday 4 September, according to Sapa-AP. Bomb squad members took it to a firing range to be blown up.
SARB to hold special monetary policy meeting
The South African Reserve Bank announced on Friday 5 September that it will hold a special monetary policy committee meeting on September 10, according to the Mail and Guradian. A statement from the Reserve Bank said that "major underlying trends in the…
NOK 500,000 stolen from Norway's central bank
Over NOK 500,000 has been stolen from a vault in Norges Bank, the central bank of Norway, according to the Norway Post. Police investigating the theft have questioned a number of employees who had access to the vault.
Buenaventura asks court to cancel his suspension
Philippines central bank governor Rafael Buenaventura on Friday September 5 asked the Court of Appeals to cancel a one-year suspension imposed on him last month, according to Agence France-Presse.
China's central bank governor defends policy
Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the PBOC, said on Thursday 4 September that it was too early to make a decision about the loosening of currency controls on the yuan, according to Associated Press. China's official news agency quoted him as saying "It is too…
Parry: Fed still has room to cut rates if needed
Robert Parry said on Thursday 4 September that the Federal Reserve still has room to cut interest rates if the US economy were to underperform, Reuters reports. But the San Francisco Fed chief, who is a voting member of the FOMC, stressed that he thought…
Some questions and answers from the ECB
At the ECB's press conference on Thursday Vice President Lucas Papademos said the bank's governing council "takes note with great concern of recent fiscal developments" in some member states. Papademos did not name the countries concerned, but his…
Tito Mboweni convenes MPC meeting on 10 September
Announcement by Mr TT Mboweni, Governor of the South African Reserve Bank, on the Special Monetary Policy Committee Meeting, 5 September.
Fed's McTeer: US jobless rate may drop by year-end
Dallas Fed President Robert McTeer said on Thursday 4 September, that with an upturn in US growth unemployment could fall by the end of the year, according to Reuters. He told reporters "It could easily be under 6 percent by year-end".
IMF open to idea of Asian Monetary Fund
IMF managing director Horst Kohler, addressing a luncheon meeting in Malaysia, said that the Fund is open to the idea of an Asian Monetary Fund and that the IMF could provide constructive dialogue on the idea, according to a report by Reuters.
New Hong Kong banknotes
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has announced the forthcoming issue of a new series of Hong Kong banknotes in 2003 and 2004. A number of advanced security features have been added to the new banknotes to enhance their anti-counterfeiting capabilities,…
'Yes' camp narrows gap in Sweden's euro poll
The gap narrowed to just 5 percentage points between the No and the Yes camps in Sweden on Wednesday 3 September in the campaign to join the euro, according tothe Financial Times. A poll by Demoskop gave the No camp a 44 per cent to 39 per cent lead, the…
OECD urges ECB to be prepared to cut rates
The OECD has said that fiscal measures are unlikely have a significant impact on growth and urged the ECB to be ready to cut interest rates if further signs of weakness in the eurozone economy appeared, according to the Financial Times. OECD chief…
China agrees to allow free yuan float 'eventually'
China's central bank governor, Zhou Xiaochuan, struck a conciliatory tone with US treasury secretary John Snow on Wednesday 3 September, reported the New York Times. He promised that the value of the yuan would eventually be determined by market forces…
RBI to kick off Basel transition with 8 banks
As part of a move towards the new New Basel Capital Accord the Reserve Bank of India has chosen eight banks - public, private and foreign - as part of the RBI's pilot run on implementing the risk-based supervision for banks, according to Business…
SA Finance Minister on Mboweni's pay hike
South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has commented on central bank governor Tito Mboweni's 12% pay increase, according to Finance 24, saying that the matter could be taken up by the finance portfolio committee of the National Assembly.
New Zealand leaves Official Cash Rate unchanged
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has decided to leave the Official Cash Rate unchanged at 5 per cent, 4 September. Governor Alan Bollard said "Current monetary policy settings are consistent with medium-term inflation remaining comfortably within the…
Bank of England holds key rate steady
The Bank of England maintained interest rates at 3.5% on Thursday 3 September, as widely expected, reports Associated Press.
ECB cuts euro-zone growth forecast, holds rates
The European Central Bank held its main interest rate steady at 2 per cent on Thursday 4 September, according to Reuters, and cut its estimate of euro zone growth to "slightly below" the mean of its range of 0.4-1 per cent. The slight downward revision…
ECB would be 'delighted' if Sweden joins euro zone
At the ECB's press conference on Thursday 4 September, the deputy president Lucas Papademos said that the European Central Bank would be "delighted" if Sweden was to join the euro but that the decision was for Sweden to take, eports EU Business.
Housing assistance to RBA staff
In a press release the Reserve Bank of Australia attempts to set straight what it calls "quite misleading" references in the press to housing assistance the RBA provides to a small proportion of its staff, 3 September.
Bank of Canada lowers interest rates
The Bank of Canada lowered its target for the overnight rate by 1/4 percentage point to 2 3/4 per cent on 3 September. In its press release the Bank said since the last interest rate announcement on 15 July, inflation pressures have continued to ease.
Fukui says no quick end to BOJ easing policy
Bank of Japan governor Toshihiko Fukui on Wednesday sought to calm the bond market, Reuters reported, saying "You can rest assured that the ultra-loose policy will stay in place as long as the CPI (consumer price index) is falling or only showing weak…